Interview: Jennifer Connelly brings the hospitality to 'Snowpiercer'

Jennifer Connelly is no stranger to fantastical worlds - from "Labyrinth", to "The Rocketeer", "A Beautiful Mind, and most recently "Alita: Battle Angel" Connelly has made the audience believe in what they're seeing. Now, she is bringing a fantastical world to television with the sci-fi thriller-drama "Snowpiercer."

When what's left of the world shrinks down to a train, it's good to be a person with some power on the train. Connelly is Melanie Cavill, the Head of Hospitality on the train which means she is someone everyone on the train knows. Inspired by the 2013 movie of the same name, this futuristic thriller-drama follows the survivors of the second ice age who live on a train that circles the globe premieres on Sunday, May 17th.

Connelly explains exactly what Head of Hospitality means on a train with 1,001 cars where engineering is in control and class status is at a premium.

It means that she is like a hostess; she welcomes people, makes the daily announcements, talks about what is being served in the various cars, smooths over relations, solves problems that need to be addressed if something is not working or grievances. She is also a way for people to communicate with engineering in the front of the train, so she can bring the feelings of the passengers to the front of the train and she can bring the wishes of the owner, Mr. Wilfred to the passengers.

The unique part of being in A New Television show like this instead of films is that there are only a few scripts to work with on character development when the shooting starts, and they learn more as each new script comes out.

The pace was different because the document is evolving as you're working. Film scripts have revisions but this was a whole new script coming in with whole new characters and new plot points, and so that's a different process.

I try to have a really clear idea of who she is, what does she want, where did she come from, what is she scared of? Who has she left, what has she sacrificed?

Soon though Connelly's character Melanie finds herself working with characters from other parts of the train, like Daveed Diggs' detective Andre Layton, which was an added twist to her characterization.

I think both characters defy each other's expectations as they come to know each other. First, we judge a character based on what we see, what they look like, and what car they are in but then we come to understand what they are hiding, or what they don't put forward first which is all part of the interesting process.

As the show starts we find that the rigid class division that has ruled is threatened, which sets all of the characters into action.

I think all of the characters find themselves in a very extreme situation and find themselves doing things they never thought possible.

You can check out Jennifer Connelly and the rest of the cast of "Snowpiercer" when it premieres on TNT on Sunday, May 17th at 9pm. Check your local listings for channel and showtime.

You can explore the train on www.tntdrama.com

Photo Credit: Jamie LeDent Photography

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